the little ones
by JDLawrence
Summary: The titles says it all. Enjoy and review PLEASE!!!!
1. Chapter I

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Dark Angel characters (Max, Logan, etc...). They belong to Fox, Charles Eglee or James Cameron. I am not making any money off of this, so please, don't sue, I am not rich enough. All the characters that do not appear on the show are mine, if you wish to use them, please let me know.

Author's note: this isn't set after my other story. Please, leave a review to tell me what you think, good or bad, a comment is still a comment. Raven, my little friend, wherever you are, and if you ever read this, it is dedicated to you J

THE LITTLE ONES

Part 1

It was still cold in this early spring, but the Commander didn't care about that, in fact, he thought it was a new condition his soldiers hadn't been trained inyet, and it was a good thing that they could experience it. 

The freezing air passed right trough their thin coats, but they didn't mind, the temperature didn't affect them, even though they could feel it.

The blue unit creapt silently between the trees, staying as close to the ground as they could. Finally, Monkey saw their target. He gestured it's direction to the others, and, quickly, they each took their position. When they were all ready to attack the red unit, their objective, Tiger, the leader, imitated the cry of a crow, to engage the attack.

Unfortunately, Squirrel, a member of the red unit, identified the cry as human. Buffalo quickly stopped his unit and positioned them in defensive mode. He scanned the bushes arround them, was it the green unit? No, they couldn't have found them here; the members of the green unit were almost all dog-like animals, which meant they searched their opponents by tracking their smells. But Buffalo had wisely chosen their way, always making sure there were enough flowers or odorant plants around them to cover their smell. Since it was obviously not the green unit, and that the yellow unit was probably after the green, it had to be the blue unit. 

Tiger, sensing that they had been identified, gestured to his second in command, Linx, to gather the unit. He decided to fake a fleeing, but to wait for the red unit in a small meadow he'd located earlier in the mission. He just hoped Buffalo would fall for it.

óóó

- four months later -

The quietness of the space needle was probably what attracted her to it, or maybe it was the height? She just liked this little break from the overcrowded city. When the pulse had hit, she remembered, everyone had fled from the big cities, letting the place free for vandals, thieves, and other kind of trouble-makers. The police had been overwhelmed. But once the population understood that the cities offered, at least, a shelter, everyone came back at the same time. It was chaos. People found their home robbed, or already occupied. You could find tv for 5 bucks on the black market, but what was the point? The tv sations had been wrecked by the pulse anyway.

Max's pager started to beep. A quick look at it told her Logan wanted her to come by his place. Logan... what a strange man, so much determination for a lost cause. He never gave up, even though he'd come pretty close to it when his ex-colleague had been murdered by his own daughter. A daughter Logan had helped finding her dad. Max knew Logan was still blaming himself for it, even after six months, he was still thinking about it.

She was glad he'd paged her, she liked seeing him and mostly, what a great cook he was! It had been a long time since she'd realised she liked him in a more-then-friendly way, that she loved him. But she never told him, never even gave him a hint of how she felt. Since she'd met his ex-wife, (Logan, married!? She still couldn't believe it!) she knew she wasn't his type at all. He wanted someone whom he could take care of, comfort and protect. But Max didn't need any of those things, she'd been trained to deal with life by herself.

óóó

"Logan?!" She called, entering the huge condo.

"In here" he answered back from his office.

~ I guess I am not here for diner ~ she thought as she walked in the room where Logan sat in front of his computer screen.

"You know, I think you spend way too much time in here!"

"Yeah, well, i am not exactly the jogging-type" he answered half-jokingly.

"So, why am I here?"

"I need you to get rid some vilain for me"

"Alright, who and where?"

"Larry Jonhston, St-Christopher orphanage"

"An orphanage?"

"The guy sells some of the kids to a company in Africa, which hires the them for about 5 dollars a month, fourteen hours a day"

"Bastard... well, I'll be off then" she said, moving toward the door

"And I suppose I don't need to remind you to be careful?" he said, his icy-blue eyes searching hers.

"Don't worry" she said with a slight smile, it always amused her how he wasso protrective over his friends "Well, I'll come by tomorrow to tell you how it went, bye!" and she disappeard, leaving Logan staring at the now empty space in front of him.

She seemed to take those missions like jokes. She thought she had nothing to fear as long as she stayed away from Lydecker. ~ Truth is, one day, she'll get herself killed~ thought Logan sadly. He didn't want her to die, he wanted her here, with him. Now that she'd invaded his life, he couldn't let her go. He knew he loved her, but he kept pushing his feelings away. He wasn't her type, he knew it. She wanted somebody who could understand her, comprehend what she was going through. She needed someone who could run with her instead of holding her back. Everytime he thought he'd found something on one of her sibs, he was afraid that she would leave him to her brothers and sisters.

óóó

Max knocked-down the man that was standing by the door easily. Casually, she opened the door:

"Hello, M. Jonhston"

"Who the hell are you!?" said the man, standing up. He was fat, and his forehead was covered in sweat...

"You look tense, maybe you should take a nap" she said, about to jump on his desk. But he opened the main drawer of his desk and quickly pointed a gun at her, his hand shaking dangerously.

Max evaluated the situation: an hysterical man was pointing a gun at her. Simple. She had to make him move. Out of his office, he'd be easier to get. She turned arround as fast as she could and ran. She heard gunfires, but he didn't hit her. His heavy footsteps were resounding behind her. She opened a door, intending to wait for him there, but she found herself in a dormitory: about twenty beds were aligned along the walls. Most of the children were sleeping, but some of them were awake and looking at Max questioningly. Soon after, Jonhston entered the room, panting. 

He didn't see Max take a step behind him, and neither did he knew what was happening when two hands grabbed him from behind and twisted his neck firmly. A second later, he didn't wonder anymore. He had had only the time to scream out of surprise.

All the children were awake now and were forming groups, as to protect each other from the killing-lady.

"Hum... Sorry 'bout that kids" she didn't know what to say. She'd just killed a man in front of a bunch of kids, what was she suppose to do? Comfort them? One thing she wasn't really good at.

She noticed a little girl, maybe 5 or 6 year-old. She had short hair and bright intelligent eyes. She was standing all by herself by her bed, staring intensely at Max. There was something about her, something familiar. Max walked over to her bed:

"Hey there, are you OK?" she said, trying to make her voice soft. But the girl didn't answer. "What's your name?" she tried to get the girl to talk. ~God, I probably traumatised her, maybe she's in state of shock... but she seems so... alert~ thought Max.

"She doesn't have a name, she never talks. I wouldn't get too close to her if I were you, she's dangerous" said the boy who stood in front of the younger ones.

Max looked deep into the girl's green eyes. Then, at the same time, they both recognised each other for what they really were.

"Come with me" Max said. The girl only nodded.

óóó

"Kendra, I am home!" Said Max, entering her apartement, closely followed by the girl.

"You live with another one? Isn't it dangerous to get caught?" said the little girl. It was the first thing she'd said since they'd left the orphanage.

"Kendra isn't one of us. She doesn't know about that"

The girl stiffened, she didn't like this. ~ do not trust anyone but the members of your unit ~ she thought. This woman was trustworthy, the girl felt it inside. But this Kendra, she wasn't one of them, she couldn't be trusted, she was weak and unpredictable.

"Oh, Hey Max... who's your friend?" said Kendra cheerfully, coming out of her room.

"Hum... yeah, this is... someone I found in the street, her mom abandoned her. I just figured she could stay here until i find her a place in an orphanage... is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, sure, but what is she going to do during the day? I mean, we're both at work...?"

"I haven't thought about that yet. But if you'll excuse us, I think I should discuss some things with her..."

Max and the little girl went into Max's room. 

"So, now, are you gonna tell me what is you name?"

"I don't have a name"

"Well... what did they call you back there?"

"Linx"

"Ok, what do you know about yourself?"

The girl took a deep breath and began:

"We were trained in the canadian Rockies. We are the next generation of chimeras. They tried to fix the mistakes they had made when they created you. We don't have seizures. Each one of us is different. We are all made of mixed up DNA from a bunch of animals, but each one has more of one animal's DNA. We were called by the name of that animal. I was linx. They thought that making you all too much alike made you capable of thinking as only one being. They think that's the reason you escaped. Each one of us has a different personnality, coming from our different origins. " she paused to let Max swallow all the new information.

"There were four units:" she continued "red, blue, green and yellow. They encouraged rivalry between the units. Once, we got all together and put all our forces against our guardians. We escaped four months ago. Our units leaders, Tiger, Buffalo, Wolf and Bear, discussed the best tactic. They said we had to split up. I had been paired up with Cat, but she got caught by our pursuers. Tiger told us to go south, south-west... Tiger is the leader of my unit, the blue one. I don't know where the other leaders sent their units. Buffalo probably decided to go south too, he is wise, he is the oldest, he is the leader of the red unit."

Max considered the little girl for a moment. She was so young, but yet so old, mature. It was obvious she'd been trained like Max, but there were some differences, and they would be revealed as she'd grow.

"Do you know anything about a man called Lydecker?"

The little girl didn't say anything for awhile, obviously trying to recapture a memory.

"Once, I overheard the Commander talking to one of the doctors. From what I understood, they hold Lydecker responsible for the escape at Manticore I. I don't think he knows about us."

"Manticore I ? Why do you call it like that?"

"You were at Manticore I, we were at Manticore II. Manticore III is probably already on the way in canada."

Max nodded

"Well, first thing first, you have to pick a name. We can't just call you Linx for the rest of your days, now can we?"

"I don't know any names... I heard one of the kids was called John, and another Daniel, and now Kendra."

"Hum... I can't name you. You have to chose your own name... and by the way, mine is Max." The girl nodded in acknowledgement "wait here, I think Kendra has a book..."

When she came back, Max was holding a book she knew Kendra had... it was the only thing left from her mother.

"Here. It's not exactly a naming book, but it should do. It's a dictionnary of book characters." She handed the book to the kid.

For a few minutes the little girl turned over the pages...

"Is Pixie a good name?" she said, unsure.

"I don't think it's a name, but if you like the word, then make it your name" 

Max wasn't surprised by the girl's choice: a short, easy to learn and easy to pronounce name was all a soldier needed. As for the weirdness of it, it was understandable: she didn't know what a pixie was. Yet, deep down, Max knew that, if the girl tried to forget her training a little and grew up in a more normal environment, she could grow into a somewhat pixie-like girl.

"Well, Pixie is my name then" she said with a smile, it felt nice to have a name of her own. It was like being more then a soldier, it was like becoming Someone, not just a number or a barcode.

óóó

The next day, early in the morning, Max brought Pixie to Logan's condo. She knew the girl wouldn't trust Logan, but it was the best place she could drop her off to when she was at work. And she was confident that Logan would find a way to change Pixie's feelings toward him... he was a natural charmer.

"Logan!? I've brought company!" She called through the huge apartment.

"Who's he?" said Pixie defensively

"A friend, you can trust him"

Logan rolled out of his office; he was eager to know how it had been the previous night, and who Max had brought along.

"Hey there" he said, a surprised look on his face when he saw the little girl that was standing by Max's side. She didn't look much like a little girl. She was neither shy nor insolent, she just stood there, straight and serious.

"Hey Logan, I'd like you to meet Pixie, Pixie, this is Logan"

"Pixie?! Well, nice to meet you Pixie" ~ Pixie!? That's a name!?~ he thought

"Hi" simply answered the girl

"Pixie is one of the new generation of chimeras, they escaped, and their leaders told them to split up. She ended up in St-Christopher orphanage, where you sent me last night."

Pixie turned her head questioningly towards Max. What was she doing!? Repeating all her story to some human stranger!

" I see... "

"Hi Max! Who's this?" said Bling with a warm smile for the little girl as he came out of the kitchen.

Anger flashed into Pixie's eyes. ~ Has Max forgotten her whole training!? What is she doing? Talking to so much humans? Humans are not trustworthy, they are weak, at least that's what I was told, and from what I've seen, it's true. This is a tactical exposure ~

"Hi Bling! I'd like you to meet Pixie, Pixie, this is Bling, you can also trust him..." said Max, knowing that even if she said so, it would be long until the girl really trusted a human.

Pixie pouted in disbelief ~ Yeah, right, a human trustworthy~. Seeing that Max and Logan needed to discuss somethings, Bling said:

"Well, Pixie, why don't you come with me in the living room. You can watch TV if you want"

"TV? What's that?"

Bling looked at Max with a puzzled expression. A kid who doesn't know what TV is?.

"I'll explain to you later" she said "Go on, you'll see what a TV is" she added for Pixie.

Once Pixie and Bling had disappeard in the living room, Logan turned his wheelchair toward Max:

"So, how did it go last night?" 

"Just fine, the guy is dead"

"Alright then...So... What are you going to do with her?"

"I don't know yet. I just know I couldn't leave her at the orphanage... I was hoping she could crash here for the day, while me and Kendra are at work"

"You want me to babysit her?!" said Logan with a smile, wow, if there's one thing he'd never thought Max would ask him, that was it.

Max grinned at the thought of Logan babysitting

"I just thought staying here was more interesting for her. And she doesn't need anyone to look after her. I think that what she needs right now is to learn more about humans, 'cause she doesn't trust them at all "

"Well, I'll see what I can do... but that doesn't solve the problem, does it? You'll have to send her to school someday... And she'll grow. You won't have enough space for three in your apartment. And what about the others like her? Do you know if she wants to find them?" he stared at her for a minute, her beautiful eyes, her perfect face, her fine curves...

She stayed quiet for a minute, thinking about what he'd just said. He was right, she had no idea whatsoever of what to do with Pixie. She never thought about having children, and now she was in charge of a 6 year-old soldier... She had no idea what to do. She knew Logan would do his best to help her, but he had other things to worry about.

"She didn't talk much about the others, but I think she'd like to be with them... She said her unit leader told them to go south, south-west. They were in the canadian rockies"

"I'll try lo locate them if you want..."

"Yeah... I think it would be the right thing to do..." she was interrupted by a burst of laughter coming from Logan' living room "Looks like she discovered cartoons" added Max with a smile.

óóó

- three weeks later -

Pixie had lived with Max and Kendra for three weeks now. Everyday, Max brought her over at Logan's. She was slowly getting used to Logan, Kendra and Bling. Logan always took an hour or so to spend with Pixie, he'd explained her the concepts of "loving" and "liking", as well as all the other words she had never heard during her training. She learned quickly, and soon, she was devouring every book she could find in the condo. Max showed her the streets and taught her how to handle the people she might have to deal with one day. The image of worthless humans she had was slowly drifting. The rest of her days and nights she spent training by herself or with Max.

Max sped off on her motorcycle, it was 7:30 p.m. and it was time to pick Pixie up at Logan's. She'd seen alot of Logan lately, since she came by at least twice a day, to drop off and pick up Pixie. Of course, she wasn't complaining! The probleme was, it was becoming harder and harder to hide her true feelings from him. These icy-blue eyes of his were sometimes so damn penetrating, she felt as if he could see right through her.

Once she reached the condo, she, as usual, let herself in. Barely knocking on the door of the computer room, she saw Logan in front of his screens, apparently absorbed in the data in front of him.

"Honey, I'm home... " she said sarcastically, loud enough to startle him.

"Oh! Hi Max... I suppose you're here to pick up Pixie... I think I found something on one of your siblings..."

"What!?" she said, her heart beating hard in her chest.

"In Minnesota, Minneapolis more precisely, I have found the files of a couple of pharmacies. They seem to have received alot of prescriptions for tryptophan, most of them have been signed by a certain doctor Fitzgerald. I've found his adress and phone number. I've tried to contact him, but it doesn't answer. " 

He looked at her with a mix of worry and fear. He feared she'd leave for Minneapolis, he feared she'd find her sibling and never come back, he feared he'd never see her again. 

"Minnesota huh?" 

She thought about it for a second, but it was clear she had to go check it out. The question was: to bring or not to bring Pixie along. Even if the little girl had only been there for a couple of weeks, she was already a important part of Max's life. Strangely, when it came to Pixie, Max abandonned immediately her "I-don't-care" attitude. 

"Pixie!? Come over here for a second..." she called. 2/3 of a second later the kid was standing in the doorway, clearly, she had been listening to their conversation. "How about a little trip to Minnesota? What do you say?"

"Won't we draw too much attention on ourselves?"

"You can pass for my little sister"

"I think it's a good idea then... But Tiger told us to go north-west. And isn't Minnesota in the east?"

"Logan will take care of finding Tiger and tell him to wait for you..."

"Lets go then!" she said with a smile.

óóó

Bling walked slowly down the crowded street. His small apartment wasn't located in the rich part of Seattle, so it was quite far from Logan's condo, but he didn't mind the long walk home through the lively streets full of all kinds of people. As he grew nearer his apartment, he caught sight of a small crowd in the middle of a nearby street. As he approached, he heard laughter. There was a street circus performing in front of the crowd. They were cheering a little boy who could jump at the top of a human tower formed of five adult equilibrists.

The sight of five adults struggling to keep their balance with the facetious little boy ontop of them was quite entertaining, and the money poured like rain in the hat an old lady was carrying along the ranks of spectators. When the woman was done collecting money from the cheering crowd, the boy suddenly jumped off the head of the man he'd been standing on, causing for the equilibrists to fall painfully on the street's pavement into a minglement of arms, legs and heads.

As the kid turned to see if his friends were alright, it dawned on Bling that the boy had something written at the back of his neck. ~ Oh no... It couldn't be...?~ he thought, as he stared at the barcode on the back of the child's neck.

He walked confidently toward the little boy.

"Hi there, that was quite impressive what you did" he said warmly.

"It was nothing, really. One just have to have the Technique..." responded the kid in a dismissive tone. 

"You know what? I think we have a friend in common." Said Bling with a large smile on his genie-like face.

"I don't think so, I just got here. All my friends are in the circus' crew" 

"Her name is Linx" Bling looked at the child's reaction; there was barely a start and the boy looked at him straight in the eyes. For a few seconds, they stared at each other. 

"You are trustworthy, it is obvious I have nothing to fear from you, I can read it in your eyes. Were you looking for me?"

"A friend of mine is. But no, I wasn't. I happen to live a few blocks away."

"Where is Linx?"

"She's at my friend's place, and she is safe, don't worry. She is now known as Pixie."

"Well, I am Raven, back there I was known as Monkey. Chief called me like that because of my hair. Can I see Linx... or Pixie?"

Bling considered the little boy for a second. He was thin, dark skined as if he came from India, and he had wide black eyes. His hair were of a deep black, indeed. But there was something about him that was different from Pixie. He was more open, more sociable. He seemed to enjoy the contact of humans, and seemed more human himself. 

Why was he like that? The answer was easy: he had more or less the personnality of a monkey, and monkeys are, as we know it, closely related to humans. Monkeys also lived in groups, or families, which made Raven more sociable. Pixie, on the other hand, came from linx DNA. Linxs are known to be solitary and suspicious; hard to domesticate, if not impossible.

"Well, if you can leave your crew for awhile, I can bring you to her. I am not sure she'll still be there though. She spends the night elsewhere."

"We must hurry then. I warned Chief I could have to leave the circus suddenly, he won't worry."

"Well, follow me then"

End of part 1

I tried to do something different from the other fics, I don't know if I succeeded... Please, I am begging you, leave a review!!! I desperatly need it!!! I am truly sorry for any spelling mistakes. My first language being french, I sometimes do not see the obvious mistakes. Tell me if you want more, and any suggestions are welcome!

Arwen


	2. Chapter II

Disclaimer: Max, Logan, Bling and all the other characters that appear on the show do not belong to me. They belong to the Fox network, Charles H. Eglee or James Cameron. Pixie, Raven, Nathan adn Governor MacMillan are mine, so if you wish to use them, just let me know.

Author's note: Well, here is part 2. I hope you'll like it... Again, This story is dedicated to my friend Raven, who is every bit like the Raven in this story (except for the age and the super-strength part). Enjoy, and please, leave reviews!!!

THE LITTLE ONES

Part 2

Logan rolled himself into the living room, a worried look on his face. The girls had just left him and already, he was afraid they might get themselves into some sort of trouble. He knew they could take care of themselves, evenif she was 6 or so, Pixie could easily kill a full-grown man. During the weeks she had spent at his apartment, he'd had the opportunity to observe the differences between her and Max. Dr. Frankenstein had really improved his work. Pixie wasn't, of course, as strong or as fast as Max, but she was obviously stronger then Max had been at the same age. 

He turned on the TV, eager to know what were the latest news on a politician he had denounced in his last eyes-only bulletin. His smile broadened as he saw the politician's face, red with anger, shouting at the surrounding journalists.

"None of those vile accusations are true!" raged the man "This eyes-only man is better be prepared! This was the last drop, we will do everything in our power to find this bozo who has trashed many of the most respectable members of the government!!!" the man continued in a quieter tone."I repeat, we will do everything we can to find him" 

Logan sighed sadly. He really hoped the population would believe him instead of the politician. He remembered the pole he'd seen earlier on the web. Governor McMillan had had a huge loss of popularity. 

The threat the governor had just broadcasted didn't worried him much. He'd had a lot of powerful people after him before, and none of them had been able to track him down. But a threat was still a threat and he decided to be even more careful.

There was knock on the door. ~ Who could it be? Probably not Max... she wouldn't have bothered to knock~ he thought as he wheeled to the door. When he opened it, he saw Bling standing there with a little boy by his side.

"Hi Logan. Are the girls still here?"

"Nope, sorry, they left about 15 minutes ago." He answered as he looked questioningly at his therapist and friend.

"Well, I'd like you to meet Raven. Raven, this is Logan. " said Bling as they both entered the apartment.

Logan looked puzzled for a split second, but then he understood. 

"Oh. Well, I am afraid you've just missed Pixie. She and Max are off to Minnesota. I think they should be back in a couple of days..."

"Who's Max? Why is Pixie with him? She would never trust anybody. Did you force her?" said the little boy all at once. A expression of suspicion crept onto his jovial face.

Logan smiled slightly. He was a slodier, even though he didn't look like it as much as Pixie did.

"Max is a girl. She is one of the first generation of chimeras. They went to Minneapolis to check up on something..." 

Even though he felt the boy could be trusted with the information, Logan didn't want to give him too much hope. Maybe he too, was looking actively for the others, and if the girls didn't find what they were looking for, he would probably be disapointed.

"So, why don't you tell us how you got here?" continued Logan, as they all sat down (except for Logan who was already in his chair) in the living room.

Raven looked intensly in the icy-blue eyes, who stared right back at his. Both,they were evaluating each other.

"You too, are trustworthy... even though it is obvious you are hiding some things from me"

"Everyone has their secrets... So, what happened to you when you escaped from wherever they were training you?"

"Well... I'll assume Pixie, as you now call her, already told you about us being more advanced chimeras." Logan nodded "So Tiger and the other units leader called a split up. Tiger paired me up with Fox. He was with Mink, the weakest. He paired Pixie, his second in command, with the second weakest, Cat. Do you know where she is? Wasn't she with Linx?"

"Pixie told us she had been caught by your pursuers"

Raven nodded; if the news had grieved him, he didn't show.

"So me and Fox ran for a long time. I remember jumping at the back of the first truck we saw on the road. It lead us to a city that is called Vancouver. From there, we had to go south, as we had been told by Tiger, who is our unit's leader by the way. Again, we jumped on a lot of trucks... 'cause we had to jump off of them everytime they turned in another direction. It took us awhile, but we finally arrived in Seattle. Once, we got nearly caught by our guardians. We had to separate. I never found her after that, but I think she is good enough not to get caught. While I was running from the guradians, Chief saw me jump off a building. And he hid me. And from that moment I have been a part of his crew."

"His crew?"

"I found him in a street circus that was performing in my neighbourhood...quite impressive." Said quietly Bling, staring in amazement a the little boy.

ooo

the next day

Max stopped her engine. They were at a gaz station and they needed to eat something; they hadn't stopped since they had left Seattle. As they both hopped off the bike, Max said:

"Why don't you stay here while I go in there and find us something to eat..."

Pixie nodded. When she entered the little cabin, Max greeted the old man that was standing behing the counter with a smile. While she scanned the shelves for something other then motoroil, she noticed a dark man who stood in front of a small and dusty window. His face was turned to the outside, so she couldn't see where he was looking, but whatever it was, it seemed interesting. 

Paying no further attention to the stranger, she picked up some bread and continued her search for eatable victuals, ignoring to dusty-looking bottle of yogurt on the shelf; it seemed to have been there for way too long. When she'd finally found enough food for her and the little girl, she turned to the old man to pay. Subconsciously, she noticed the strange man leaving the cabin.

He walked with determination toward Pixie. Seeing right away that he was going to make trouble, Pixie readied herself.

"Now, now, is that your bike? 'Cause you know, I think your way too young to have a motorcycle like this" He said, about to grab the handle-bar.

"It's my sister's" answered Pixie innocently, before she jumped on him. She landed on his shoulders, as we often take small children, but backward. A quick blow at the base of his skull and he collapsed under her. 

She quickly got back on her feet, staring at the man, unconscious at her feet. Max's quick footsteps reverberated on the pavement as she arrived, glancing at the man:

"Nice job... he wanted the bike?"

"Yep... "

Max handed her some food as they both sat down beside Max's beloved Ninja 650. They ate in silence for awhile.

"So... What grade were you back there?"

"Second in command of my unit" responded Pixie

"Me too..." said Max softly. 

They fell back into a comfortable silence.

"I wish I'd been paired up with Fox, she would never had got caught like Cat."

"If it is Tiger that put you and Cat together, he must've had good reasons..." said Max thoughtfully. She was thinking of that night they had escaped... She hadn't wanted to split up, but Zack insisted, and he ended up saving her life.

"He was with Mink... the weakest of our unit. And since I am the second in command, he put me with the second weakest..."

"How did Cat got caught?"

"We were hiding in the forest. I was in a tree and she was on the ground, a few feet away. We knew the guardians were near. She wanted to check if they were still there, she made a noise and they heard her... They have really good hearing..."

Max thought about what the girl had just said. ~ I wonder if... No they couldn't use them for that... Or maybe... Maybe they use those who didn't escape that night, with us twelve, maybe they're used to train the little ones. That's probably how Pixie knows about us... I'll have to tell Logan about that...~

"Were they from Manticore I, your guardians?"

"Yes... You didn't know?"

"I haven't seen them since our escape... How did you know about the escape?"

"We overheard some of the guradians talking about it"

"What were they saying?"

"They wondered where you were, If you were dead or alive, and if they'd ever see you again..."

"Did they... Did they wish they were outhere with us?"

Pixie shrugged, to Max's dissapointement. ~ I'll have to tell Logan, see if he can find anything... I hope he's alright... accusing the governor wasn't his wisest idea... Don't go there Max... Who knows what this guy could do without you to look after him... Anyway, we'll be back in a couple of days... And then it'll be back to the daily routine... training, kicking ass for Logan, work... Oh damn! Work! I totally forgot to tell Normal I was leaving!!!~

ooo

two days later

It was 11 o'clock p.m. and Logan was getting ready to go to sleep when the phone rang. ~ Who the hell can that be?!?!~ he thought angrily as he dragged himself back into his wheelchair. ~It can't possibly be Max... she probably won't bother to call until she comes back~ He rolled himself to the phone.

"Hullo?"

"Hi M. Cale, it's the caretaker, M. Smythe, speaking. I am truly sorry to bother you this late at night..."

"What is it?" interrupted Logan, a little grumpily.

"Well, a few of the residents told me that there was a little boy lurking arround in the building. It seems that he's entered several appartments... He scared the hell out of Mme. Norris, she was in the shower, if you know what I mean...I've tried to find him but he seems to vanish everytime a resident calls me. Well... I just called to let you know about it, and don't worry, I'll have the police overhere in the morning... I just can't really call them tonight, it would wake everybody up. And if you see him at all, could you let me know please?"

There was now a smile on Logan's lips.

"Of course, M. Smythe...Has he stolen anything?"

"Not that I know of..."

"Then why call the police? He's probably just a bored kid. He'll find something else to do" Logan didn't really want the police to come into his apartment looking for the boy...

"Aye... I guess you're right. But if there's another complaint, I am going to have to do something..."

"I totally understand... But I am sure he won't even come back tomorrow... Now if you'll excuse me..."

"Oh! Right! I am really sorr for calling you so late... Good bye M. Cale"

"Bye" and he hung up "Raven!!! Come here for a second!" he called through the apartment.

"Yes?" answered the kid as he came running out of the kitchen, still holding a piece of bread.

"I just got a call from the caretaker... He says a little boy has been sneaking around the apartments all day... He was even talking about calling the police..."

"Oh! The big man with the beard?"

"That's the one"

"Oh... I am sorry... I thought they didn't mind me being there if I was discreet... I guess that's probably why the doors were all locked..." 

Logan laughted at the little boy's innocence. Even if he was a highly trained soldier, he was still a kid.

"Yeah, well, don't do it anymore alright? I know here is not nearly as exciting as your training back in the Rockies, but soon Pixie will be back and you can do whatever you want... without sneaking into people's apartments"

"Alright... What if I try the other buildings?" but then he saw the expression on Logan's face "or not... Ok, i promise I won't do anything... I hope Pixie gets back here soon..." he added with a resigned look on his face. He knew Logan was right. 

ooo

meanwhile, Minneapolis, Minnesota

They had finally reached Minneapolis. The girls were looking at an anonymous building. They would have passed right in front of it without even noticing it if it wasn't that it matched the adress Logan had given them. It was a dark grey building with very few windows barely a poster to advertise Dr. Fitzgerald's services. 

Max knocked as Pixie pressed her ear against the wooden door. 

"He is coming... He is breathing heavily... Probably nervous..." she stood back up right before the man opened the door.

He was approximativaly in his mid-40's evaluated Max. He had dark hair, but his face showed mark of time. He wasn't particularily in good shape, though he was not fat. 

"What do you want?!" he said grumpily, like somebody who has something ot hide.

"Hi!" cheerfully said Max "We are looking for our big brother, we know he lives in Minneapolis, but we don't know exactly where... You see we've lost him long ago..." she faked tears "We thought you could help us... 'cause he needs a doctor to prescribe him a certain drug, tryptophan. We've asked to a lot of doctors, but they couldn't help us..."

"Sorry girls, I don't know what you're talking about..."

"But sir! We really need to find him... since our parents died..." Max tried to play the «poor-little-girl-in-distress» card, but he didn't buy it.

"Yeah, right... I don't know anything about that drug you call tryptophan..." he said, starting to sweat and looking nervoulsy at both sides of the street.

"Oh...Well thank you anyway... good bye sir" said Max turning arround

Without even saying goodbye the doctor banged the door shut and locked it from the inside. 

"He was lying" said Pixie, sternly

"I know... but beating him down wasn't the best plan in this case"

"What do we do now?" 

"We wait" simply answered Max, as she laid down on a bench, 100 meters away from the doctor's door. "just lay down, we won't draw too much attention if people think we're just some squatters." 

Pixie laid down beside Max, not liking to expose herself like that. Her instincts were screaming at her that she wasn't safe. All her senses were alert. 

They laid there for several hours. It was now three in the morning, and the street was empty. They heard footsteps. Pixie turned silently toward Max, who nodded slightly, to let the girl know that she, too, had heard the noise. 

Fifteen minutes later, the man appeard on the sidewalk. He was tall and obviously in a hurry. Almost running, he hurried to the doctor's door. He knocked three times, waited a few seconds and then knocked again two times. ~That was probably why he was so nervous, we didn't do the right code ~ thought Max.

Max, seeing right through the thick curtains of darkness, recognised the traits of the young man right away. 

"Nathan..." she whispered, without realising it.

He wore a black leather jacket and black pants. When he entered the building, he looked around, obviously feeling observed.

Nathan came out of the building a few minutes later. This time, he took the time to look arround more closely. He easily spotted the two squatters a block away from Fitzgerald's office. He walked casually towards them.

Max sat up. She knew there was no need to pretend anymore, Nathan had spotted them and it would only take one look at her for him to recognise her.

"Hullo Nathan. Long time no see."

"Hey there Max. How've you been?" he said on the same casual tone, as if they were old friends, when they were really not... "Who's your friend?" he said, eyeing the little girl.

"May I present you Pixie, Pixie this is Nathan... Why don't we go somewhere else? I think your doc is sorta stressed these days, maybe we should let him get some sleep... he's been spying on us ever since we arrived here" she gestured towards a small window beside the doctor's door. 

"Yeah... my place is that way" he gestured to the directions he'd came from...

Seeing Nathan all grown-up made Max realize how futile their rivalry was when they were little. Nathan was the original second in command, but their guardians had quickly realised that two boys for Leader and Second in Command wasn't a good idea. They had replaced Nathan by Max, and from there had grown their rivalry. Nathan had always thought it was because Max was better than him that she had taken his place, so his objective had always been to outdo her. She, on the other hand, had felt challenged, and had done everything she could to outclass him. Nevertheless, both their efforts had remained fruitless since they always came second or third in the ranking, behind Zack. 

The three of them entered the extremely small apartment Nathan called "home". It was barely a room and a bathroom. The mattress he used as a bed laid in one of the corners of the very small room. Other then the bed, there was a table and a chair, which were both occupied with remnants of food, clothes, bottles of beer and a black box. ~ Now I understand Original Cindy for not wanting to be with men...! pig... It's funny how Logan's apartment is always so clean... of course he has Bling cleaning his messes...~ thought Max. 

"Hum... sorry 'bout the mess..." sheepishly mumbled Nathan.

"Guess you weren't expecting anyone..." answered Max with one of her legendary smirks. "So... what's your job?"

"I don't have any...Well... not of the legal kind..."

"Oh, I see..." ~ so he is a thief... I guess we are more alike then we thought~ " Nice tatoo by the way"

The tatoo on Nathan's neck represented the silhouette of an eagle, wings wide open. Being black, it covered entirely the barcode that would've eventually gave him away.

"So, where do you live? Certainly not from Minneapolis, we would've met sooner"

"Seattle"

"How did you find me?"

"A friend of mine found records of a lot of precriptions of tryptophan, all signed by a certain Dr. Fitzgerald."

"He should be more careful... And who's that?"

"Pixie... New generation of chimeras, they're a little different." Nathan nodded, he'd always suspected that their doctors hadn't gave up their project with the escape of X-5. 

"Have you find any other? I mean... Of our group?" he asked 

"Nop, but my friend is working on it"

He gave her an undefinable look. ~ So she too has friends... Maybe I didn't turn human as much as I thought I did... I thought I was the only one...~ . He considered her for a moment... his rival. Still, she was his sister and he didn't want to lose her only because they lived in different cities... 

"I was against the split up..." she said suddenly. They both knew what she really meant. She was asking him if he wanted to go back to Seattle with her.

"I never wanted to split up either..."

Max smiled.

"We're better get going then, 'cause Logan is gonna be worried sick that you're not coming back..." said Pixie. She hadn't missed anything of the silent conversation. Seeing the look of puzzlement on Max's face (~ Logan? worried I am not coming back?~) she added: "oh come on Max! Don't tell me you didn't notice the look on his face when we left!? It might have been only five months since I entered the real world, but there are some things I am beginning to understand about humans, especially Logan, who is, by the way, pretty easy to read."

Nathan looked at the little girl with an amused expression on his face. He'd never thought she'd sound so much adult. It was like she was a full grown woman trapped in a 6 year-old body. To top it off, the slight blush on Max's face was quite amusing too, since it was obvious she had deeper feelings for this Logan. 

ooo

ten hours later

Max's Ninja 650 and Nathan's Black Hawk 900 stood in front of their owners, waiting for their tank to be full. Pixie sat a few feet away watching curiously an ants' nest. 

"So, this Logan, it's not your boyfriend, is it?"

"No! He's just a friend..." but just as she said those last words, she imagined herself in Logan's arms, his cute face smiling down at her... She imediately dismissed those thoughts.

The dreamy look that had crossed Max's face was enough for Nathan to understand the situation, or so he thought. ~ She's probably afraid she can't get too close to anyone...~

"I've had a few girlfriends myself, none of them got killed... Of course there was one who ended up in the hospital for a couple of days, but she's still alive..." He said, trying to convince Max there was nothing wrong with having someone close to you. The woman beside him didn't react, but he could sense a change in his companion.

~ Ok, so he's had girlfriends before... I've had boyfriends either... But none of them knew what I was... Ans none of them made me feel like HE does... Well, of course there was Eric who treated me like a queen, poor Eric, if he knew...~ Suddenly, the need to see Logan struck her. She'd missed him alot more then she thought. Even though she didn't allow herself to think of the reasons, she knew she had to hurry back to Seattle.

ooo

10:30 p.m. the same day, Seattle

He stared blankly at the screen in front of him. He was suppose to be searching for Raven's unit leader, Tiger, but he coudn't stop thinking about Max: it had been 4 days now, and she wasn't back yet. She'd probably decided to stay with her sib. Or worse, maybe she'd gotten caught... What if she never came back? He'd never had the chance to tell her his true feelings... But then again, if he had, she would've probably just laughed at him, reminding him once more that he was only her meal ticket and that they were only in buisness together, nothing more. 

A red light started going off in the corner of his sreen. ~ Shit!!! Exactly what I need...~ he thought as he typed quickly security codes and commands, rising his security barriers to their highest level. Someone was trying to hack into his system. ~ Probably the governor's people...~ he thought as he increased his protection...

Ten minutes later, the red light stopped flashing at the bottom of his screen. The intruder had abandoned. Logan thanked god Max and Pixie hadn't been arround. He didn't want Max to know about the threats, and the little girl had this strange way to read him like an open book. His thought difted onto Raven. 

The little boy had, as promised, stopped lurking in the other apartments of the building. As secretive as he might be, it was hard not to become attached to him. Logan didn't know what he was going to do with him, but he couldn't help but wish the kid would stick around. And what if he found the others? He couldn't really start a kinder garden for biologicaly enhanced killing machines...

His thoughts were interupted by the black haired monkey.

"Hey! I was on the roof... I think there might be men surveilling your building..."

Logan sighed,~ thank god Max isn't here, it would be way too dangerous...~ but his thougts were intrrupted again:

"Logan!? We're back!" called Max

"Monkey" whispered Pixie as she entered the condo, followed by Nathan. 

The man and the boy came out of Logan's office at the same time. All the adults had a surprised look on their face. 

Logan's surprise was caused by Max's arrival, and by the man who stood behind her... probably her sib she'd gone to find...

Max's didn't understand what a little boy was doing in there. But a quick look at Pixie told her what she needed to know.

Nathan hadn't expected this Logan to be in a wheelchair and to have a kid... Or was it? They didn't look the same at all... He too, glanced at Pixie and understood who the boy was.

Pixie had known the moment she had stepped in the building that Monkey was in there; his scent was all over the place. And Raven had heard Pixie whisper his name, and had recognized her voice. After a few seconds of staring at each other, they quickly introduced everyone. 

"So what do we do about the men outside?" happily said Raven, not thinking that Logan didn't want Max to know he was in danger...

"What men!?!" said Max, eyeing Logan "Were you planing on telling me?!"

End of part 2

I hope you liked it. The next part should have more action in it. Please, leave reviews to tell me what you think! Again, I am sorry about any spelling mistakes. 

Arwen


	3. Chapter III

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Dark Angel original characters. They belong to the Fox network, Charles H. Eglee or James Cameron. Here's what **I** own: Pixie, Raven, Nathan, governor MacMillan, Shilah, Gregg, Bobby, Erin, Nolwenn (Squirrel) and June (Eagle)... I think that's pretty much it. If you wish to use any of them, please ask me first.

Author's note: Here is part 3. I hope you're enjoying the series, even thought I don't think a lot of people are too attracted by 50k story parts... This entire series is dedicated to my little friend Raven, from CVR. Please, leave reviews! Good or bad, I like suggestions! It tells me that, at least, someone took the time to read my work. 

A big thank you to BK for taking the time to beta this... There were **a lot** more mistakes before...

THE LITTLE ONES

Part3

"What men!?!" Max said, as she eyed Logan."Were you planning on telling me?!" 

"It's nothing..." He started with a resignated look on his face.

"Like hell it's nothing!" exclaimed Raven. Logan mentally noted that the six year-old already knew the rather colorful street talk "There are four men around the building. They're surveilling the entrances... and not in the most subtle way, I might add." continued the boy.

"Do we know why they're here?" asked Max. She was talking to Raven, since he was the most likely to give her answers.

"Probably the governor's men. He's been threatening to discover the identity of «eyes-only» for the past few days" 

Logan looked at the boy with a puzzled expression: ~How could he know?~

"Hey, I saw you on TV, it was pretty easy to recognize your voice" the little boy added, as an explanation.

"Well, I guess I'll have to work on that..." Logan mumbled to himself. 

"We've got to get you outta here, if they know that you live here" Max's mind was focused on the fact that Logan was in danger

"There's no proof they know it's me..." but he stopped his sentence.He remembered the attempt of breaking into his system that had occurred just before Max's return.

"What is it?" Max asked hastily.As she noticed a shadow of worry cross Logan's famous eyes.

"What?!" He said, his mind back in the present

"There's something you're not telling us!" 

~ How can she tell?! Damn! How am I suppose to ever hide something from her!?!? I wish I could do that too...~ but he interrupted his train of thought,catching Max's glowering glare. She couldn't stand that he just hid things from her, especially when it came to his own safety. He was always so protective over her.

"Uh... Someone attempted to break into my system about half an hour ago."

"And why didn't you say so in the first place!? Now we've got to get out of here 'cause they probably won't just stand there forever. They'll want to come up here and get you!"

ooo

Half an hour and a couple of snappy retorts later, they had their plan all set. Since MacMillan's men probably didn't know what Logan looked like, it would be easy to make an anonymous exit.

Logan and Max were to go with the kids, as if they were a family just going out of town to visit grandparents. Nathan would play Logan's role by looking suspicious, and get the mobsters to follow him in the opposite direction. Their final destination was 30 miles north of Seattle. Logan's family owned a cabin in the woods there, and they would be safe to think about their next move. 

Max, Logan, Pixie and Raven made their way down the elevator. When they passed the building's front doors, they started acting. Surprisingly, both kids knew exactly how to act like regular children. They would whine about the length of the trip, or because they would have to face their dreadful aunt once again. The man that was surveilling the main entrance sat on a bench, seemingly reading a paper, but glancing every once in awhile toward the entrance. As Raven had pointed out earlier, it wasn't subtle at all.

They totally fooled him and made their way to Logan's car without drawing the man's attention. Soon after they had disappeard into the car, which was parked across the street and a few yards aways, Nathan exited the building and looked around as if he was dreading something. The observer immediately reacted, and took something that looked like radio out of his pocket. After a few words, he got up and started to follow Nathan.After all, his orders were to make sure no suspicious-looking men left the building before the boss' hackers could find out from which apartment the «eyes-only» signal was emitted.

Nathan listened to the footsteps behind him. The adrenalin of the game started to flow through his veins. It had been awhile since he had done something like this. All he'd done for several years was steal things from rich people who had total confidence in their alarm systems; nothing really exciting. It was just now that he realised he'd missed the danger aspect of it. His instincts were taking over control of his body.Everything they had been taught at Manticore was flooding back into his mind.

He kept walking until he was sure that the four men were after him. He then started running, pretending that he had just realised that he was being followed. He glanced back; the mobsters were not even trying to hide themselves now.They were panting as they tried to catch up with him. 

~ I have to finish them now.They won't last much longer. ~ He turned into a dark alley ~ this should do ~ he thought, as he looked around. There were fire escapes climbing up the side of the building.He could always take off that way if something went sideways.

The first man that turned into the alley received a powerful kick in the stomach. He rolled on the ground, desperately trying to catch his breath while escaping his mighty assailant.

Nathan readied himself for the next man to come.It would be awhile until the man on the ground caught his breath. The second mobster received a blow behind the head; another in the face immediately followed it. Nathan grabbed him by the collar and sent him flying into the wall. He was unconscious. The third man didn't last long either and lay atop of his colleague in a matter of seconds.

It had been so long since Nathan had felt the rush of adrenalin. He decided to have a little fun with the last one. Lydecker would have never approved. After knocking down the first mobster, who had finally caught his breath, he ran up the fire escape. The fourth man ran into the alley.He was sure he was going to find his colleagues already holding their target.However, he stopped with a surprised gulp when he saw the unconscious bodies lying in front of him. 

At that precise moment, Nathan dropped himself on the back of his victim. A quick twist of the neck and the man was no more. Nathan stood up and watched the bodies pensively ~ Should I kill them? It wouldn't be really fair to kill them while they're unconscious, and it's not like they're a threat anymore, but they do work for MacMillan...~ 

With a sigh, he delivered a quick kick to the men's chests, breaking their sternum irreparably. The bone would weigh on their lungs and enable them to pump enough air. They would all be dead before they regained consciousness. 

ooo

"So... ahem... I'll drop you off at your place with Pixie..." Logan said softly, half-expecting Max not to hear. But her enhanced hearing was working perfectly.

"What!? You think I'm just gonna let you deal with the governor on your own? Now really Logan... I thought Mr. "Eyes-Only" had some sort of brain..."

"I can take care of myself" he stated. 

"Oh, right, and I suppose it's your miniature G.I. Joe here," she glanced at Raven "who's gonna defend your sorry ass when the mobsters search your apartment and discover that you own a cabin in the forest that would be a perfect hiding place."

"Anyways, you have a job, and I don't need you there."

"Like hell you don't need me; I leave for five days and you manage to get yourself trapped in your apartment by the governor's people!!! As for the job; I probably already lost it.I forgot to tell Normal that I was leaving town." And before Logan could answer that, she added, "Forget it Logan, I am coming with you."

With that, Logan shut his mouth.He didn't really want her to stay in Seattle. Also, the good part was that he'd have her with him during the whole time!

They arrived at a checkpoint. Logan handed all the papers needed for him and Max to pass without a problem. The kids didn't need checkpoint passes. The policeman came back, holding nothing in his hands but his club, which was not a good sign.

"Is there a problem officer?"

"Step out of the vehicle sir"

"What's the problem?"

"I **said**, step out of the vehicle" answered the cop, waving his club menacingly towards the windshield.

Logan glanced embarrassingly at Max. She understood he wanted her to do.

"It's alright sweetie, I got it." she said sweetly, pretending to be his wife. 

She exited her seat and went behind the car to open the trunk. She pulled out the wheelchair and rolled it towards Logan's door. He dragged himself onto his wheelchair, trying to make it look painful when it really wasn't. The policeman had watched the whole scene with an uncomfortable look.

"I've stepped out of the vehicle, now would you mind telling me what's wrong?"

"This is a stolen car. You are under arrest." He gestured to another man who immediately approached the car. There was no need to tell Logan that he had to stay there; it was made fairly clear by the gun in the cop's hand.

The first policeman went back into the small cabin. After a few minutes, he came back with his orders.

"The lady is under arrest, too."

"What!? Wait! Why?!" Logan nearly shouted.

The cop seemed reluctant to give them the information they asked for.

"Since you're in a wheelchair, it's hard to believe that you could steal a car. She, however, can."

"And whose car have we supposedly stolen, if I may ask?" said Logan, starting to lose his temper.

"A certain Logan Cale's." and with that, he turned around and gestured his men to arrest them. 

The realisation hit Logan hard, really hard. He couldn't believe he had made such a stupid mistake! He made fake IDs for him and Max since the governor probably knew his name by now, but he hadn't made false papers for the car.It was still under his real name!

Pixie and Raven had curiously watched the scene; humans were really weird, they thought. When a cop opened the door of the backseats, they looked at Max. She nodded.

"Don't be afraid, they won't hurt you. Daddy and I are having problems, but it'll be alright." She said in a motherly tone. ~Where did I learn how to do that!?~ She asked herself. ~Certainly not at Manticore, and not in my foster families… Oh, right, Kendra!~

Logan and Max exchanged a long glare, silently fighting about whether or not Max and the kids should knock out the guards. Logan won.There would be no fighting; it would bring too much attention on the area. There just *had* to be a reasonable way to get out of this mess.

ooo

Unfortunately, two hours later they were dropped off at the nearest jail. Max was boiling inside ~Damn! Why didn't he let me take care of them!? We wouldn't be jammed here!~ . She felt the familiar inner turmoil that usually hit about an hour before the seizures began. ~Great... just what I need right now!~ 

"Logan!" she hissed.

"What is it?" He answered rather grumpily. The whole situation was getting on his nerves, and not being able to make things better was getting to him.

"I need tryptophan."

"Don't you carry some with you?"

"Well, usually I don't get stuck in jail..." she paused, seeing Logan's arched eyebrow, and added "right..." remembering all too well the time when Original Cindy had had to come to her rescue.

"I'll try to call Bling.There are some things money **can** buy...like a phonecall." He rolled away.

"Why don't we just get out?" asked Pixie while Max glared at Logan's back.

"Feel free to let me know if you have a plan Pix, to get us **all** out" she waved her hand in the direction Logan had just disappeared.

Pixie shut her mouth, which was the effect expected. She walked away, visibly looking for a way to get them out of there. Raven was happily socializing with group of not-so-friendly-looking men in a corner. For a second, Max thought about calling him back, but then again, he could easily knock them down if needed.

ooo

- 4 hours later-

Nathan walked into the dark room. There was nobody there and it was easy to tell. The air was stagnant and had been for years. The only smell was one of old wood and dust. ~Why aren't they here!?! They had plenty of time!~

Nathan had rode his motorcycle as fast as he could after taking care of the mobsters. Now he was at Logan's cabin, and it was empty. ~Something must've gone wrong. I have to go back there!~ he thought before taking off. He pulled out a map that Logan had given him back at his place, all he had to do was find out where they were.Easy.Not really. 

ooo

"You're lucky that I could get Bling on the phone." said Logan, back to his regular self ashe handed the white bottle to Max.

"Remind me to thank him." She said with her usual smirk, as she eagerly grabbed the bottle and poured five white pills in her trembling palm."Any idea how we're gonna get outta here?"

Logan's expression darkened slightly.

"I...haven't figured that part out yet." he said, looking at everything but Max as she swallowed the tryptophan.

~He's ashamed! God! He thinks he **has** to find a solution! Weird guy.~ Max realized. The urge of hugging him and telling him not to worry almost over-took her, but she restrained herself.

"I am sure we'll find a solution.Don't worry" 

He turned towards her and their gaze met for a few seconds, but then separating hastily. Pixie and Raven were having a cold argument in a corner:

"It won't work."

"We can't stay here!We have to try something!" pleaded Pixie.

"Neither of us knows how to drive a car."

"I watched Logan.It's not that hard.I could drive the car, or Max could."

"You're not tall enough, and I don't think Max knows how to.Plus, she has to be the one to get Logan out of here.We can't."

They stared at each other for a long time.

"I am your superior. I am sure Max will agree with me. When she does, you are coming with me to get the car.It's an **order**, understood?" Pixie said coldly.

"Understood" replied Raven with a sigh.He knew that she'd say that.

They walked over to Max and Logan.

"I think I have a plan." 

ooo

He was finally back in town. Now he only had to figure out where they were.That was the hard part. As he walked hastily on the sidewalk, having parked his bike a few blocks away, he barely noticed the two little girls he had pushed out of his way. After a couple of steps he stopped; something wasn't right.

He turned around; both girls were looking at him. They were dirty and it seemed as if their clothes hadn't been washed for a very long time. If it weren't for the toughness in their eyes, they would've looked miserable. But that toughness was there and Nathan saw it, as would've any other kid from the Manticore project. ~There from Pixie's group ~ 

"You know about us. Where can we find our team members?" One of them asked.She had black hair and piercing eyes.

"Actually, I don't know where they are.I was just going to find them, care to join me?" he asked with a smile. ~It's funny how we, chimeras, always skip formal introductions.~ he thought.

He was right, in a way. The little girls had immediately understood that he was a chimera of the first generation.The way he walked, looked, and acted showed them that he wasn't one of their guardians.Therefore, he was one of those who escaped.He was on their side, which was enough for them.

"I am Eagle, and this is Squirrel.Who were you looking for?" asked the same girl.

"Um...I think it is Linx and Monkey, but they don't go by those name anymore. They're called Pixie and Raven. How about you?"

"My...um... outside name... is June." Eagle answered.

"And mine is Nolwenn," added the brown haired one.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, June and Nolwenn. My name is Nathan and I..." He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. 

The two girls suddenly became extremely tense, scanning their surroundings as if they looking for something. He was the first to spot them; a squad of four young adults who were seemingly just hanging out. It took him a few seconds to recognize them.They had changed so much. 

Shilah was a beautiful woman now, with her dark hair and her mysterious features.However, she still had that cold-blooded killer expression that spoiled all her beauty.It was the human warmth that was lacking. Gregg too, was a full-grown man. Muscular, he seemed to have a lot more self-confidence then ten years ago. Bobby still looked somewhat like a teenager. Was it the remnants of innocence in his traits? Or was it just his juvenile features? Nathan didn't know, but there was something else.Erin was...still Erin. She hadn't changed a bit. She was still the strong little soldier she was ten years ago. She had the same cold glare in her eyes, even colder than Shilah's. None of them looked even remotely human, except maybe for Bobby.

These observations had taken only a split second for Nathan to come up with. Max had told him that she believed those who hadn't escaped with them that faithful night had been assigned to the training of the Little Ones. 

"Girls, behind you, don't turn."

"How many?" asked Nolwenn who couldn't tell herself because of the crowded street.

"Four, they haven't spotted you yet. You better hurry…" He didn't finish his sentence; the kids had already disappeared in a nearby alley. 

He couldn't stay there himself. He had to move. If he had been able to recognize them, they would undoubtedly recognize him. He casualy crossed the street and made his way toward a ladder that climbed up all the way to the roof of a building. He swiftly reached the top of the edifice, from where he could see if the girls were safe from their pursuers.

He spotted the alley where they had both disappeared.~Damn...it's a dead end...~ Still, there were many piles of junk and dumpsters where they could easily hide.With his genetically enhanced vision kicking-in, he distinguished a slight movement in a dumpster. 

The guardians were now standing right in front of the alley. ~They sensed something, probably our scents.Damn, I hope they don't recognize mine...~Each of them was scanning a part of the crowd. Gregg looked up and his gaze met Nathan's, who was crouched beside a chimney. Nathan heard him whisper a few words to the rest of the group.

"Escapee, type G1. Roof across the street. Ordering immediate pursuit." Gregg took off in Nathan's direction. 

Fortunately, the time it took the group to cross the street was enough for Nathan to disappear quietly on the other side of the building, using an emergency ladder. When they all arrived on the roof, he was long gone.

It only took him a minute to reach his bike and hop on. ~ If I ever find Max and the kids, I'll have some interesting news for them... ~. He decided to go back to the cabin; they were probably there by now.

ooo

"Now!" whispered Pixie.

Raven took a few steps back and jumped as high as he could (which was pretty high). Pixie took two steps back and followed the little boy over the fence. Max had agreed to Pixie's plan and now was the time to execute it. They had had to wait until darkness had fallen upon the prison and until the guard's attention loosened a bit.

Pixie didn't mind waiting. That was one of her linx characteristics. She could've stayed there in the shadows, surveilling the guard, forever if it had been necessary. Fortunately, no coffee was available, and soon, the guard had begun dozing off.

So now they were behind the fence. Adjusting to their new environment, they crouched at the bottom of the guard tower. Using the hand signals they both knew so well, they agreed to go towards the parking lot, where they were most likely to find Logan's car.

They finally spotted it. Raven, being the most agile, picked the door and lit the engine.Pixie was supposed to get to the guard's cabin, beside the entrance of the parking lot, and, well, knock him down. Logan had insisted that no one would be killed.

Both of them were done within a minute. Pixie had come back to the now roaring engine. She sat in the driver's seat, desperately trying to reach the pedals. Raven watched her with an amused look.

"Told ya." He said with a smirk, looking around to be sure no one heard the roar of the car.

"Shut up and help me, idiot" she hissed back.

"What do you want me to do!?"

She pointed the pedals beneath her dangling feet. With a sigh, he slipped in the space she had just indicated him to. 

"Try one." Pixie ordered.

He obediently pushed one of the plastic pedals. The car responded immediately by suddenly speeding and crashing into the car in front of them. 

When both of them had taken in the impact, Raven whispered, 

"Sorry"

"Idiot, somebody'll hear us!" After a few seconds of studying the different buttons available around her, she added, "Ok, try the same one, but gently this time."

She pressed the button that would make the car go backwards, and they slowly backed out of the parking spot. After several attempts, they managed to get the car to roll in a straight line into the alley. Speeding up a little, they easily smashed the frail barrier by the guard's cabin.

They halted the engine, all lights out, in front of the jail's main entrance. After a couple of minutes of waiting, Max's shape stood out of the shadows, hastily pushing Logan in front of her. 

Soon after their appearance, gunfire began to rattle out behind them. Pixie and Raven swiftly got out of the car despite the danger, and helped Logan into the driver's seat as soon as he was in their reach. Max hopped in the seat beside him, while the kids took their place in the back seat. Guards were starting to run towards them.

"You alright?" asked Max.

"Yeah, I'm fine," answered Logan, without looking at her

They sped off into the thick darkness, leaving the guards far behind them. 

ooo

- awhile later, Cale's cabin -

"Where have you been?!?" asked Nathan as soon as the kids entered the wooden house.

"Jail." Pixie answered simply.

"What!? How? I mean...why?!"

"Um...long story. I hope you weren't too worried about us." Logan said, entering the brightly lit room.

"Well, actually, I was! So I went back in town and guess who I ran into?" answered Nathan, totally forgetting about the jail incident.

Since nobody seemed to know, he continued.

"Eagle and Squirrel, who now go by the names June and Nolwenn." He looked at the two six-year-olds and added "Who were closely followed by four guardians, Shilah, Gregg, Bobby and Erin, and don't worry, they didn't get them."

Max felt like there were a milion questions that needed to be asked, but all she could do was stare at Nathan.~Shilah, Gregg, Bobby, Erin...~ Those names echoed in her mind ~They didn't make it...but Bobby? How could he have not escaped?~

"Bobby? He didn't make it? How...?"

So many questions to ask, and so much that would never be answered.Nathan had seen four of them. 

_________________________________

End of part 3

Well, this is it for part 3, I know there was a lot happening, hope you enjoyed it. I really want to thank you for taking the time to read this series, I know the parts are long, but hey, that's how I do it... Since you already took some of your time to read this, why not take a few more seconds to write a review? It won't kill ya and will surely make my day sunnier... Review please!!! 

Happy new year all!

Arwen


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